Through New Eyes
by Rapp Fan
Summary: You saw RENT through Mark, and what happened to him through his eyes. Now its time for someone else's turn. It starts with Collins, and then.... PLEASE R
1. At First

**Ok, so don't shoot me because I'm doing stuff from RENT. I wanted to see what it would be like to see the story through someone else's eyes. I'll try and keep posting for as long as I can, and since it's almost Winter Break, I'll post maybe every other day. Here goes! Hope ya like it! Oh, and also I DON'T OWN ANYONE HERE FROM RENT!!!!!!!!!!!! There are a few lines from the Broadway and the movie, but I don't "own" it, "I rent!"**

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It all started on December 24th. It was just like a normal Christmas Eve in Alphabet City, as lights were dangling from rooftops and wreaths on light posts. As for me, I was walking in the dark, with nothing but a beanie, a coat, and a few coins in my pocket for a call. It was late, around 9 p.m., and cold, about 36 degrees, with a medium coat on, and I needed to get inside somewhere. I remembered my friends Mark, the filmmaker, and Roger, ex-druggie and singer/songwriter. They were just about a block away, so I hurried to a payphone next to the apartment. They lived in some run down, old piece of shit that didn't have any electricity, no heat, nothing except for a bastard of a landlord. The place used to be mine, but I moved out ever since I went to MIT.

Anyway, I called their apartment so I could get the key. I was in the Christmas mood, so when the answering machine sprang up, I sang a few notes from "The Christmas Song".

"Speak……. (Beeeeeeeep)"

"Chestnuts roasting…" I sang out. "I'm downstairs."

"COLLINS! Hey!" I heard someone say in a raspy voice. _Is that Roger? He _never_ picks up the phone._

"Roger? Is that you?" I ask.

"No, he's still moping around, tuning the Fender guitar he hasn't played in, what, 4 years? It's me!"

"Mark. Throw down the key!"

"Sure. We're gonna have a party tonight!" He puts the phone down, opens the window, and throws me the key. Then he puts the phone down to talk to Roger.

I see a few shadowy figures come near me. I try to get Mark back on the phone.

"Mark? MARK!" I scream.

"Yeah, Collins?" He replies.

"You might wanna start without me…" I say, my voice shaking, and hang up.

"Hey man, you got a light?" One of them asked. I was afraid they were gonna rob me.

"Yeah, sure. Here." I pull out my lighter, but three others come up behind me. Fortunately, I saw them, elbowed one and ran for my life. I heard screams of "Get that son a bitch!" and "Get him!" while I was running.

I tripped over my laces and they beat me with a baseball bat. They punched me, beat me up, and then they took my coat, but they tore it off so fast that it ripped, leaving me just a small portion of it. Blood was dripping from my nose, mouth, and my knuckles from the self-defense. Everything looked brown, and I started to feel dizzy, so I leaned up against a brick wall in an alleyway. Then…I fainted.


	2. He Came

**Okay, same deal. I don't own anything. I'm just using it. And PLEASE R&R!**

I woke up, and check the time on my watch. It was 10:30.

"_Damn, is it really that late?_" I thought. "_Maureen's protest is in an hour and a half._"

I tried to sit up, but felt like I was gonna puke. Then, realizing my condition, coughed. I went to wipe whatever was there, and felt something.

"_Shit!_" There was blood. Apparently, the thugs beat me so bad that my mouth bled when I fainted.

"Hello?" I heard someone call out, probably hearing my hacking. I keep coughing my guts out so they could find me.

"Oh, my god! Are you okay?" I heard them say. I looked up and saw a bright light, with a person standing over me.

"God?" I asked, half awake. "Am I in Heaven?"

"Um, not yet, hon. If we don't get you to a hospital right away, you might be." He said.

He. It didn't sound like a guy. He sounded like a girl, no offense, but he did.

"Yeah, sure." I tried to get up, but I couldn't. I was still in too much pain from the beating. He noticed that I was struggling, and gave me an arm. "Thanks."

"No problem. What's your name?" he asked.

"Tom Collins, but everyone who knows me calls me by my last name."

"Hi. I'm Angel." He held out the hand that was supporting me, and quickly stuck it back under my arm. "Sorry."

"It's alright. I'm used to the pain now. Where are we going?" I asked.

"Well, there's a good chance the emergency room's closed, considering it's Christmas Eve."

"Considering..."

"So, I'm taking you back to my apartment. I live with my mother. She and I are like brother and sister." He crossed his fingers, showing they were extremely close.

"She won't mind if you bring home a stranger?" I asked, half-wanting to know the answer.

"Mind? She loves company. It makes her think we have family. I had a couple of brothers and sisters, but..." He paused.

"What? What happened? They move out, go to college?" I asked.

"They had Aquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome, as my mother, and as I. My family has had it ever since my great-great-grandfather got it from some prostitute. So, it's just been passed down. We were all tested when we were babies, and we all had it. Kind of sad, huh?" Angel let me lean up against a wall, before he opened the door to his apartment. It wasn't small, but it had a kitchen, 2 bedrooms, a bathroom, and a wide space in the middle.

"Well, it's weird, but...I have it too." I said, as he leaned me down onto the couch.

"It's not weird, and that just means we have that much in common."

"Yeah, well, it get's weirder..." I shifted my eyes toward the door, as if someone had just walked in.

"What, you're gay, too?" He hinted.

"Actually..." I started, but then the door slid open, and Angel's mother was standing there with 4 large grocery bags full of rice, beans, and lots of other fresh food.

"_There's never fresh food in the Village. I wonder where she got it?_" I thought.

**AN: Alright. This next part I'm gonna have Angel and his mom talking to eachother in Spanish, but I'll have it**_ italicized_ **so that regularSpanish and **_italicizedEnglish. _**Got it? Cool. And if anyone speaks Spanish and I get it wrong...PLEASE correct me. I don't want to be wrong with someone's language. I'm in school and I take French, so...yeah. ON WITH THE STORY!!**

**"**¡Estoy en casa! " _I'm home!_

"Pensé que usted habría estado en casa ya... " _I thought you would've been home by now..._

"Encontré a un joven agradable, que pareció agradable para usted. Su nombre es la Marca" _I met a nice young man, who seemed nice for you. His name is Mark._

"Wait, did she just say Mark?" I asked, looking very confused.

"Yeah, she did. Why?"

"Ask her what he looked like. I might know him." I eagerly looked back and forth between the two, and waited.

"Ok. ¿Qué Marcó se parece a?" _What did Mark look like?_

"El tuvo pelo rubio corto, gafas cuadradas negras, y él tuvieron una cámara."

_"_She says that he had short, blonde hair, square black glasses, and he had a camera with him." He walked over to the kitchen to help his mom with the groceries, and I stood up, but fell back down.

"Collins! Sit, come on. We'll make you some soup, and get you a blanket."

"¿La mamá, puede permanecer Collins con nosotros esta noche¿Apenas tan él re-coopera?" _Mom, can Collins stay the night? Just so he can re-cooperate?_

"¿Seguro, por qué no?" _Sure, why not?_

"She says you can stay. I'll take the couch, and you can have my bed." He went into what appeared to be "his" room, and came out with a blanket and a pillow.

"Wait, I can't stay. Mark is one of my friends, and he lives near here. I need to get there. I was supposed to stay with him. He's probably worried sick about me. I need to go."

Angel sighed. "All right. We'll get you bandaged, and leave."

"La mamá, el cambio de planes. El necesita llegar al lugar de la Marca. Nosotros le veremos más tarde." _Mom, change of plans. He needs to get to Mark's place. We'll see you later._

"Bien. Esté en casa mañana. Adórele." _Alright. Be home tomorrow. Love you._

So, we set out. I remembered where it was. 2 blocks down, 1 to the left, 1 down. Easy, right? Not yet.


End file.
